She Went to Europe, He Went On a Cruise
by Robinpoppins
Summary: Set in the summer between Seasons 3 and 4. Two friends go their separate ways for the summer. Perfectly normal, right? Then, why can’t they stop thinking about each other? JJ
1. Musings from a Deck Chair

**Summery: Set in the summer between Seasons 3 and 4. Two friends go their separate ways for the summer. Perfectly normal, right? Then, why can't they stop thinking about each other? LL**

**Disclaimer: I'm too tired to think of anything cute to say here. Wait, puppies are cute! For all you Veggie Tales fans…"Puppies are cuddly and puppies are cute…" And, it's not mine. **

**A/N: I'm baaaaaack (insert creepy little girl voice)! Well, this is just an incredibly random fic that I came up with the other night in bed. I got up, turned on the light and jotted down a few notes. Now, I have a chapter done. This is been a general curiosity of mine. What did Luke do on his cruise? What did Lorelai and Rory do while in Europe? What would happen if Luke and Lorelai can't get each other out of their heads while on their respective trips? What happens when they both return? Thus, this little fic was born. Happy Birthday, fic! I hope you all enjoy it and bear with me during the Luke and Nicole scenes. I mean, frankly, who likes to read them anyway? Get that curtain up; let's get this show on the road!**

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**She Went to Europe, He Went on a Cruise**

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**Chapter 1: Musings from a Deck Chair**

_What the hell am I doing here? _

Luke audibly sighed as he sank into a deck chair waiting for Nicole. Well, he sank in as much as he could on a chair made of wood. It didn't leave for much cushioning. Luke rested his head on the wall behind him and closed his eyes. He felt a headache coming on. He should've asked Nicole to buy some aspirin, but he wasn't feeling very Miss Cleo before she left. Perhaps he packed some in his shaving kit, but he was too lazy to make the trek back to his cabin.

He was starting to think that this cruise was a bad idea. He hated vacations. First, you have to pack. Then you go through your clothes and realize you have nothing to wear for the trip in the first place. Then, you had to go shopping, which Luke also hated. Believe him when he says that his mall rant is much worse then his vacation rant. He shifted uncomfortably in his new clothes. They felt like they were starched too much. Where was his flannel when he needed it? Oh, that's right; Nicole basically banned him from bringing it. At least he had his worn blue baseball cap to be a subtle reminder of the wardrobe he left behind. Too bad he left it in the cabin, with the aspirin. Plus, it was hot. Too hot for flannel. Possibly to sweaty for a cap.

Nicole changed her mind a few weeks before; after Luke had confirmed that he wanted go, after he had the conversation with Lorelai at graduation, after the dream. Now, instead of winding their way through Canada and cruising the Alaskan coast, Nicole wanted warmth, sand, and sun. And, as Luke began to realize, Nicole always got what she wanted. Must be the only child syndrome. Lorelai and Rory had that same ability. They could weasel their way into his heart and then practically get him to do whatever their little hearts desired. Part of him hated that quality in women. The other part found it endearing in the Gilmore girls. If their eyes weren't so damn big and blue, maybe he wouldn't always give in so easily.

The Caribbean. Luke thought about pirates when he thought about the Caribbean. Must've been all that Disney indoctrinization that most kids his age had. Rum was also vaguely Caribbean. Never been a big rum fan, though. Mai Tais. He was already sick of them. Why did those dumb looking servers keep handing them to him? He wanted a beer, not some fruity attempt to be alcohol. A nice cold beer. Either those dumb asses didn't speak English or they were forced to hand out Mai Tais until the vacationers passed out drunk. Now that's a picnic. Luke only planned on getting drunk if it was absolutely necessary. That is, only if certain people or certain things got on his nerves. What was the point of putting those idiotic paper umbrellas in drinks anyway? You just take them right back out, probably litter them on the deck or toss them in the ocean for some fish to swallow. The cruise company could probably save themselves a bunch of money if they just eliminated those umbrellas. Luke remembered hearing once that an airline company saved millions of dollars just by removing one olive from every first class meal. Maybe he should mention it to someone. Not that he liked getting business advice from other people, but, hey, maybe they would like to know. Umbrellas cost money. Eliminating umbrellas from drinks equals saving money. And isn't that the goal of most corporations? Maybe they could save more money by just getting rid of the Mai Tais altogether. He couldn't be the only one who was dying for a beer. They were probably cheaper anyway. Maybe they would have beer at dinner.

"Mai Tai, sir?" One of the servers asked Luke for the umpteenth time as he approached Luke's deck chair. He had jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, since his eyes were still closed. _Speak of the devil_, Luke mused.

"Uh, no…thanks…Is there any chance I could get a beer?" The server smirked as if he had sized him up just by looking at him. Like he knew right away that he was not Mai Tai Murray.

"Certainly, sir. Any preferences?"

"Heineken; if you have it."

"Of course. I'll see what I can do for you at the bar."

"Great, thanks, uh…Vince," he said, picking out the servers name from the tiki hut-shaped nametag. He didn't even feel up to mocking that. Well, at least until he had a beer in his system.

"You're welcome, sir. I'll be right back." Luke sighed with relief as Vince left and resumed his position on the wall.

_Since when am I this guy? When do I ski? When did I ever go see a Broadway show? When did I ever go to fancy schmancy restaurants where I don't even like the food to begin with? When did I dress up? Since when did I cut my hair so short? When did I ever leave the diner for this long? Why the hell am I doing all this for her?_

These thoughts had been plaguing Luke for awhile. If he wanted to be truthful to himself, they started around the time that he had "the dream." He hated admitting it, but that dream got to him. In a way, it had creeped him out a little. It felt so real that Luke had asked Caesar if Lorelai had been in the diner that night. "Don't get engaged." Why the hell was he dreaming about Lorelai telling him to not get engaged? It wasn't like he was planning on it. God, he was far from proposing to Nicole. Sure, she was beautiful, had some great legs, and he was having fun with her, but Luke didn't see "it" when he looked at Nicole. The one. A future. The person he was supposed to settle down with. The person he was supposed to reproduce with. But, jeez, he was terrified that maybe Lorelai was right about cruises. Maybe there was this mystical force on the ship that turned Average Joes like him into babbling, romantic fools that felt the need to propose. Maybe it was the combo of salt water and chlorine from the pools. Maybe it was the Mai Tais. Good thing he didn't drink any. He would hate it if Lorelai was right. He would hate himself if he let dream Lorelai down. He would hate it if he let the real Lorelai down.

It had been almost three weeks since he last saw Lorelai at Rory's graduation. Man, Luke hated admitting it, but she looked beautiful. Red was definitely her color. Lady in red, like that irritating song. Hate was too strong of a word, though. Lorelai was a very attractive woman. He'd be blind if he didn't see that. He'd be lying to himself if he tried to deny how beautiful she really was. But, hell, he had a girlfriend. Lorelai was his friend. Probably his best friend. _You aren't supposed to be attracted to your friends, right?_ Okay, yes, he's had a bit of a crush on her in the past. A stupid little crush that he always thought would go away one of these days. But, every so often, he would feel it. He couldn't even begin to explain it even if he tried. That feeling he had in his gut every time Lorelai smiled at him, or looked into his eyes, or said something ridiculous, or conned him into giving her coffee, or complimented him, or did something great for Rory. And, part of him hated that feeling. He couldn't shake it. _Old crushes die hard_, he supposed. But, at the same time, he didn't want to let that feeling go. It was comfortable. It suited him. He was afraid that their relationship would change if he were to let go of that feeling. It had been there for so long it was apart of him now. A permanent entity.

"Here you go, sir," Vince said, interrupting Luke's thoughts. Good timing. He should really stop thinking about Lorelai now. Vince placed the beer on the table next to him. "Anything else I can get for you?"

"No, thanks…uh, here…" Luke said, digging in his pocket for his wallet.

"You can charge to the drink to your cabin, sir," Vince logically said, pointing to a spot on the receipt for Luke's cabin number. "We could also start a tab for you at the bar for the rest of your stay." Luke used the pen Vince pulled out of his shirt pocket and jotted down the room number that he had already committed to memory on the paper.

"Oh, that's a good idea. Uh, how do I, uh…" He stuttered around, trying to decide whether to hand Vince the receipt or not, while he was trying to decide how the whole tab thing worked. Alcohol in abundance was definitely a good idea for the social aspects of this trip.

"Here," Vince said, taking the receipt from Luke. "I'll just put your name down here and give this to the bar for your tab."

"Thanks. I'm Luke Danes."

"D-a-n-e-s?"

"Yes."

"Is your reservation under any other name?"

"Well, uh, my girlfriend made all the reservations."

"Okay, I'll need her name too, and that way I'll be able to find you in our system easier and we can add her to your tab too."

"Yeah, okay, her name's Nicole Leahy."

"How do you spell that, Mr. Danes?"

"Um…jeez, uh, L-a-h-e-y? I think." _Damn, that's embarrassing. I don't even know how to spell my girlfriend's last name._

"Okay, Mr. Danes. You're all set. I'll just go take this to the bar, and you or Ms. Leahy can just tell one of our servers or bartenders your name when you order a drink and the tab will be added to your bill at the end of your trip."

"Thanks a lot."

"No problem, sir. Just let me know if I can get you another beer."

"Yeah, okay, I will."

Luke sank back to his original position, closing his eyes as he took a long swig. He blindly lifted his legs up until he found the footstool and rested his feet on top of it. Maybe he could get used to this treatment. Maybe idle hands would drive him nuts. He liked to keep busy. That was his life. He didn't take breaks. He didn't like taking breaks.

That was about when Luke looked down at his feet. He was wearing loafers and shorts. When did he become a loafers and shorts kind of guy? He looked ridiculous. He looked like he should be standing next to someone named Tennille. He hated the yellow shorts he was wearing. He despised the itchy, smelly Hawaiian shirt Nicole had picked out for him. To top it all off, his legs were white. Not just white, but blinding white. Glaring white. White to the point that if Lorelai ever saw them, he would be ridiculed for weeks…no, months. Nicole tried to hide her embarrassment about his legs, but Luke knew better. He saw her shocked reaction when he stepped out of the dressing room for the first time. Was it his fault that he liked to be covered up? Shorts didn't suit him the way a flannel shirt and jeans could. Heck, he would even admit that he didn't mind the slacks and sweaters Lorelai had bought him that one time. But, shorts, loafers, and Hawaiian shirts weren't his style. He was not that guy. He did not want to be that guy.

Not only was Nicole good at getting her way in a wheeling and dealing style, she was good at lying too. Almost too good. Good to the point that Luke found himself second guessing a lot of the things she said. He hated that. He wanted to be able to trust her. Are those the hazards faced when dating a lawyer? Are there always these trust issues? Was it just him? Was it every man or woman who wound up in a relationship with a lawyer?

The reason this came to mind was because of Luke's legs. Nicole insisted that they looked fine, but he didn't believe her. Then, in a very manipulative way, she suggested that he put some sunless tanner on them. She wasn't asking him; she was telling him. _Okay, Nicole isn't evil. But, I hate that she's like this sometimes. I hate that it took me this long to notice this about her. Jeez, I really am a piece of work. Letting myself be dominated by this girl. Why am I this guy now? Why do I become this guy with her?_

"You can take the man out of Stars Hollow…" he heard Nicole's voice begin. He didn't open his eyes at first; just let her shadow fall on him. Slowly, he looked up at who was before him. She really did look nice today in that white sundress and tanned skin. Laced in her fingers was a plastic sack where he assumed his sunless tanner waited.

"What?" Luke asked, a little baffled by her comment.

"I see that you already found a beer."

"Yeah, well…I'm not a big Mai Tai fan."

"I could tell."

"What did you get at the store?" he asked, pretending like he didn't already know.

"I got a candy bar for me, water for both of us, and sunless tanner that you wanted for your legs," _That I wanted…riiight. _Nicole took a seat in the deck chair next to him, handing Luke one of the waters from the sack. Silently, they both opened up the bottles and took a sip, letting the serenity of the open sea engulf them. _Stuff like this could be nice, _he thought.

"Oh, hey, I almost forgot to tell you," _Almost too good to be true, _"I passed by the spa on my way to the store and signed us up for a couples massage."

"Oh," Luke said unenthusiastically. Terrific, just what he needed. He didn't like when someone, other than the person he was seeing, was grouping him all over. Especially if that someone happened to be a man. Yes, he'd be the first to admit it; he's a homophob.

"You sound less than thrilled."

"No, no," Luke tried to cover it up. He knew she went through a lot of trouble arranging this trip and he didn't want to be an ass the whole time, raining on her parade. "I just don't want my masseuse to be a man."

"I believe that can be arranged," Nicole said with a bit of a smirk. She reached over and found Luke's hand, lacing her fingers with his. She brought up his hand to her lips and gave it a gentle kiss. Luke turned his head to look at Nicole then, trying to return a smile. "Are you really okay with this whole trip?"

"Yeah, sure…why wouldn't I be?" Luke asked, trying to sound convincing.

"You've been a little crabby all day."

"I'm always a little crabby."

"Not always."

"Really, Nicole, I'm fine. It's probably just jet lag."

"We never changed time zones, Luke." Nicole stated logically. _Damn, she was good._

"We've just been traveling all day, and I guess I'm just a little worn out."

"Sure. I'm a little tired too."

"I think I just want to go back to the cabin and take a nap."

"Oh, okay…" she said, slightly disappointed, "I was thinking about going for a swim, but I can go back and take a nap with you."

"Nah, I don't want to interrupt your plans. Go ahead and go for a swim. I can take a nap by myself."

"Okay, sure you don't want to join me?"

"Maybe tomorrow," Luke said, trying to shoot her a natural looking smile again. She smiled back.

"Let's meet back at the cabin for dinner."

"Sounds like a plan."

"And, hey, I heard about this show that's going on after dinner where the guy plays water glasses. Should be interesting."

"Yeah…we could check it out, if you want."

"It might be entertaining."

"Let's go then."

"Okay, after dinner." Luke stood up, brushing his shorts off.

"I'm going to head back now."

"I'll walk back with you," Nicole said, "My suit is in the room." They started walking slowly back to their cabin, side-by-side. Nicole reached over and lightly snaked her hand around his arm. Following her gesture, Luke bent his arm slightly, allowing Nicole to tuck her hand in the crook of his arm. Luke took in the sights of the expansive ship as they walked. Nicole smiled at the other couples they passed. _Damn, Lorelai was right. It seems like everyone who's here is either in love, or on their honeymoon, or celebrating an anniversary. And, where are Nicole and I? What is she thinking about us being here?_

Turning the corner, Luke caught sight of a coffee shop. That's when he saw her. His heart completely skipped a beat and he held his breath. _No, it couldn't be. She's in Europe with Rory._ But, it certainly looked like her from the back as this woman sat under an umbrella in front of the café. Dark, silky tresses fell along her back in loopy curls. She had a mug of coffee gripped in her hands as she sipped, doing it in the way he saw Lorelai drink it a million times. _God, she looks like Lorelai. Could it be her? _Luke had to find out. Unconsciously, he let go of Nicole's arm, and turned as they got ready to pass the woman. He still hadn't taken another breath, his heart beating fast.

"Luke?" Nicole questioned. Luke stopped as they stood next to the table, trying to get a good look at the woman's face. She looked over right then too. The face was unrecognizable, the eyes dark brown. Now he could see a bit of olive coloring in her complexion. It wasn't Lorelai. Luke sucked in a breath as the woman gave him a confused look.

"Sorry…" Luke began, "You just…I thought you looked like someone I know…from behind." _This is awkward._

'Oh, okay." The woman stated, taking another sip from her mug. Nicole watched the exchange cautiously, beginning to piece things together as Luke began to quickly walk from the café.

"You thought she was Lorelai, didn't you?" Nicole asked after they were a safe distance away.

"What?" Luke asked, frantically trying to find away to cover up his momentary lapse. Lorelai was a sore spot in their relationship. He tried to avoid mention of her like the plague now, hating the way Nicole glared at him in jealousy. "Nah, I thought she just looked familiar."

"Right…"

"I'm serious."

"I know. I believe you." Nicole said. Luke was pretty sure she was lying. He was second guessing her words once again.

"Good…" Luke held out his arm to her, encouraging her to come closer. "Come here," he asked. She reluctantly relented, letting his arm wrap around her shoulders. Luke kissed her forehead lightly. "This ship is really nice."

"Yeah, it is," Nicole said, then remained silent as they walked the rest of the way.

Why is it that he saw Lorelai here? Why did he keep thinking he saw her in the diner when she had been in Europe for three weeks? Why had he dreamed about her before? Why did dream Lorelai tell him to not get engaged? Why did seeing that woman he thought was Lorelai affect him so much? Did he miss her? Was he allowed to miss her? Why did Lorelai have this affect on him? They were just friends. Luke sighed as they found the hallway where their cabin was in.

_What the hell am I doing here?_

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**A/N: Well, what did you think? Good? Bad? In between? Should I continue? Drop me a line and review to let me know either way. I am anxious for your feedback. And constructive criticism. Is Luke in character? Is Nicole? I really want to know what you guys think. **

**Yeah, I'll be the first one to admit that this chapter is a little weird. Luke is rambling. Nicole is just being Nicole. Lolabelle26, you were right when you said Nicole was hard to write. Yeah, and she does talk really weird. All breathy and throaty and such. **

**I promise, better stuff is coming. What I have planned so far is the next chapter to be about Lorelai (who is much easier for me to write than Luke) and Rory. Then back to Luke. Then back to Lorelai, and so forth until I get to a point where they both go back home. **

**So, if you guys want me to continue, here's what I got in store for chapter 2… "Carmelites, Gondolas, and Indiana Jones"…Lorelai and Rory are making their way down "the boot," as they plan their days in Venice. While sipping espresso in a café on the Piazza de Marco, they discuss what they want to see, and what they don't (including a rant from Lorelai about opera). Lots of references to actual places in Venice (yes, I've been there. I'm trying to be as authentic as I can). Rory is a little surprised to hear that Lorelai has been thinking about Luke and his cruise and the Gilmore girls contemplate sending him a postcard. Are you enthralled? I hope you want me to continue, but if this chapter sucks, then I probably won't.**

**Thanks for reading and please drop me a review. Even if it's to rant or tell me a joke. I'll take it all, I'm easy (spread that around…will do). **


	2. Carmelites, Gondolas, and Indiana Jones

**A/N: First of all, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY TO THE I'M SORRYTH POWER! (and wow, my spell check didn't freak about sorryth. Real word?) You may not think I have a good reason for not updating in like over a month, but I have prepared a list of excuses. Take your pick (and if you don't feel like listening to my rambling, just scroll down to the chapter start. I won't mind)…**

**1. I started this story before finals and then I was weighed down by studying. Believe me, I was in the library writing anatomy note-cards until rigor mortis set in my hand and made it look like a claw. And let me tell you, typing with a claw hand is no picnic. **

**2. Following my finals, the Gilmore Girls finale aired. I don't think I need to explain this much. I was too depressed to write anything JJ.**

**3. Feeling very Jeffersonian, I penned the Theory of Gilmore Girls Finales and showed it to Lolabelle26. It's strange how you can tie in every GG finale to _Partings_. I wrote down all the similarities I found in my "theory." If you wanna see it, ask in my review and I'll email it to you. Either I have way too much time on my hands (which was a definite factor in the week after I was done with school) or I'm not crazy and they wanted us to see the similarities. Or I watch way too much _Lost _and want to over-analyze things that don't exist. Anyway, I'm proud of my theory.**

**4. I'm still trippin' from the _Lost_ finale. What's with the Hurley bird? Were Jack and Kate using Morse code at the end with the blinking? Are we ever going to see Michael and Walt again? What was with the bright light? Why didn't Charlie care that Locke and Mr. Eko weren't back from the hatch? Desmond; dead or alive? OMG, Desmond caused the plane to crash! Why are those guys in Antarctica? Are "the Others" good or bad (I'm not so sure anymore)? OMG, we saw the outside world for the first time! GAH, I shouldn't have even started. And don't let me get on a rant about the amazing _Grey's Anatomy _finale. DENNY! WHY?**

**5. Next, I was traveling back and forth from my school home and my home home until my best friend got married at the end of May. I was a bridesmaid. Too busy to write.**

**6. The day after the wedding, I journeyed to Washington D.C. for vacation and to check out the audiology grad school program at Gallaudet. I'm going to be a junior in the fall so I got to start thinking ahead to grad school. Scary thought. Didn't have my laptop for ten days so couldn't write.**

**7. Back from DC, went to school home, went home, went to Phoenix to see Josh Kelley in concert (OMG! Amazingly awesome. Swoon. Depressed that he is officially off the market now that he's engaged to Katherine Heigel from Grey's Anatomy), went to Tucson (school home) to drop some stuff off and hang with my friend going to summer school. Too much traveling. **

**8. Officially home now, and tried to write, but got writer's block. **

**9. Was in the mood to write the other night, but I made the mistake of turning on Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo (I LOVE watching poker on TV. Not sure why, though) and it was a repeat from two years ago and guess who's on…that's right, the one and only Lauren Graham! And she was playing against Matthew Perry and Sean Astin (RUDY! RUDY!) and Sara Rue and she kicks poker ass! She won! I was so proud, even though it happened 2 years ago, lol. So, too distracted by LG/Matthew Perry banter and poker and watching LG kick butt. **

**10. Yesterday it was like 115 degrees outside. Seriously, I live in one of the hottest places in the country. I'm getting the temperature straight from my car gauge. Too hot to write. Considering making a jaunt to San Diego, but no time. Sigh…**

**11. This week I'm teaching music and motions to songs at Vacation Bible School for kids ranging from babies to 5th graders which is quite a feat b/c I am the whitest of white and can neither dance nor sing well (okay, I can at least sing in tune, but I'm no Whitney Houston, no matter how good I sound in my car). So, I drink a Red Bull before VBS starts for ultimate energy and I'm exhausted when I get home. But, strangely enough, I am in a writing mood. It's funny how my mind works.**

**I hope this list of excuses suffices. I really am sorry. I hope you can find in your hearts to forgive me. That would really make me feel better. I hereby dedicate this chapter to L&Lrockmysocks , Lolabelle26, and ****Nardini's Suck**** for trying to get my butt in gear. To Amanda for calling me a rockin' tomato (flattery will get you anywhere with me). Tom for your terrific suggestions and for inspiring a funny blonde moment for me (Tom, I first read your review when I checked my email on my cell phone and for some reason read the M in your name to be RN. Don't ask me why, I tend to see things. So, I was like, cool, Torn…very Natalie Imbruglia. Haha, then I realized it was Tom. I should really stop drinking Red Bull). To ****LLfreak8285**** for getting my Veggie Tales reference. To Muffin, I'm glad I fulfill your cravings (I think, haha). To my cousins, Danae for putting up with my talking about this story incessantly and reading it for me, and Grace for laughing about the pigeons in this chapter. I needed that. Ok, I guess I should really get on with it. Just know that if you reviewed, you got my love in a nifty little warm fuzzy package. On with the next installment…**

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**Chapter 2: Carmelites, Gondolas, and Indiana Jones**

_I wonder if Luke went on that cruise._

"The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is the most important museum in Italy for European and American art of the first half of the 20th century. It is located in Peggy Guggenheim's former home, _Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, _on the Grand Canal of Venice. Opened in 1951 by…" Rory spouted on, reading from her now worn guide book. Lorelai had gotten used to this behavior from her daughter as soon as they set foot on European soil and had quickly learned when it was appropriate to place her full attention on what she was reading and when to zone out. It was a zone out moment.

Currently, Lorelai was gazing out into the Piazza de Marco from their little café, watching some man be assaulted by pigeons. It was quite amusing actually. The man was obviously terrified of birds and flailed his arms in a pathetic attempt to get the birds to fly away. Wasn't going to happen. The pigeons were definitely in dive-bomb mode. Now, he was frantically running to the Basilica di San Marco, hoping the ornate church would shield him from the holy flying terrors. _Sanctuary…Sanctuary, _Lorelai repeated to herself, letting her thoughts have a good laugh.

"So, what do you think?" Rory asked, looking to her mother for direction.

"About what?" Lorelai asked absently, wondering if birds were allowed in church. Does God smite them? Are pigeons considered kosher? Does God allow non-kosher birds in church? Are pigs allowed in church? What about Wilber? Surely Zuckerman's famous, radiant, humble, something or other pig could come in. _Surely you can't be serious! I am serious, and don't call me Shirley…haha._ _I should really look this up somewhere. Maybe it says something in the Bible. Maybe I'll just add it to the list of things to Google when I get home._

"Think about the museum."

"Oh, the Glockenspiel Museum."

"No, the Guggenheim Museum."

"What did I say?"

"Glockenspiel."

"What did you say about glockenspiels then?"

"I didn't say anything about glockenspiels."

"What is a glockenspiel anyway?"

"I think it's a clock."

"So, definitely not the same thing as a Guggenheim."

"Nope, although I think they're both German," Rory said, giving her that look. She knew her mother hadn't been paying attention to her. "You know, at this rate, we'll never have a plan of action for Venice."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I got distracted. Some guy was getting assaulted by pigeons."

"Do we need to switch seats?" Rory asked, giving her the 'Mom look,' once again. _Man, she really is serious about all this planning._ "I need you to focus here."

"Call me Digital Dan."

"Okay DD, Guggenheim Museum. Yes or no?"

"I'm sorry, what was the Guggenheim Museum again?"

"Mom!" Rory said in exasperation. She picked up her guide book and pointed to the picture, then proceeded to say, "The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is the most important museum in Italy for-"

"No need to read it again, Echo. Summarize."

"It's an art museum. Modern art to be more exact. Both American and European from the first half of the 20th century."

"So, we talkin' Pollack, Picasso, or Warhol?"

"Probably more like Picasso. Lot's of abstract."

"That could be fun. We can come up with our own interpretations."

"Yours are usually dirty."

"Can I help it if they all look phallic?"

"Yes."

"Aw, you're no fun. Put the museum on the list."

"You got it." Rory jotted down the Guggenheim Museum on her growing list with a printed flourish, placing it under the aforementioned sites of Venice.

"What do we have so far?" Lorelai asked, curious as to how many days they would be spending in this city of canals.

"Well, the Doge Palace, so you can see the dungeon."

"Of course. Such an angel child. Always lookin' out for your mama."

"I try…Then the Bridge of Sighs and the Ponte di Rialto for the obvious photo ops. The Archaeological Museum. The Torre dell'Orologio-"

"English?"

"The clock tower right over there." Rory stated, pointing behind her back to the tall tower across the plaza from them.

"I gotcha, continue." Lorelai said with a wave of her arm.

"A gondola ride…"

"Cliché, but enjoyable." Lorelai stated with a nod, picking up her small mug for another sip.

"…Espresso in a café on the Piazza de Marco, which is something we can already cross off the list," Rory stated, picking up her pen to do so.

"Mmm!" Lorelai interrupted, trying to quickly down the espresso already swimming in her mouth. _Swallow. _"Don't cross it off yet! Put it down as an everyday thing. This can be our Venetian Luke's."

"At the rate we're going right now, we are going to go home dead broke."

"So we don't eat for a few months. The inn is bought, Yale is covered. We good, baby."

"Yeah, but you still have to go Bob Villa on the inn."

"Dang, I knew I was forgetting something," Lorelai remarked with a snap. Then she smirked at her daughter as she swiped the Hello Kitty notepad from her daughter, who subsequently had her pen poised, ready to write. "Swoops!"

"Hey, I'm writing here!"

"Chillax, Midnight Cowboy. I need to visualize the list. I'm a visual person."

"I was writing, though!"

"La-dee-da, a minor technicality."

"Maybe in your book, Annie Hall," Rory muttered under her breath, crossing her arms across her chest in a huff. Lorelai turned the notepad sideways, as she studied the content.

"You know, this list is kinda skimpy compared to Florence and Rome. We're in Venice, the City of Lights!"

"That's Paris."

"Oh yeah…uh, the City of Brotherly Love?"

"Philadelphia."

"Well, we all know that Manhattan is the Big Apple. I give."

"The reason the list is so small is because I haven't finished perusing the guide book."

"Jeez, Miss Touchy Pants, have at it." Lorelai busied herself with her espresso once again as Rory slowly flipped pages. She downed the rest of her miniscule mug in one gulp. Sure, Italian coffee was good, but a big part of her desperately missed Luke's big mugs and spectacular brew. _God, what is it that he puts in his coffee? I mean, jeez Louise, its heaven sent. _If Lorelai was truly honest with herself, she had been craving Luke's a lot lately. _Was that weird? I mean, I eat there everyday. Sometimes twice a day. You would think I would get sick of his food, but I never do. Man, I would kill for some pancakes right now. Breakfast, when we get it, is so bland. I'm starting to get sick of hard rolls and Nutella. I miss sugary goodness. Oooo, or a burger. Mmmm, Luke's burgers. Luke's French fries. Luke's Monte Cristo sandwich…not that I ever ate it, but, boy, does that sound good right now. _

As if on cue, her stomach grumbled. Sure, they were sampling some terrific cuisine in Europe's finest locations. The pizza was great, but she was a little disappointed to find that fettuccini alfredo was not a native dish. But, nothing was like Luke's. It was comfortable. It had ambiance. It was home. Call her Norm, because, like _Cheers_, it was where everybody knew her name. No, Lorelai wasn't homesick. She was having the time of her life, currently painting the Italian towns red with her best friend and pride and joy. But, there were a lot of things that Europe lacked. It didn't have a gazebo. It didn't have her inn. It didn't have a Kirk. It didn't have a Babette or a Miss Patty. Europe definitely didn't have a Luke. There could never be another Luke. He was one of a kind. No one else could be surly and sarcastic, and sometimes irritating, but also manage to be the best friend a girl could have. She missed him. That realization hit her like a lightening bolt. _Why do I miss him? Am I allowed to miss him?_

Last time she saw Luke was three weeks ago at Rory's graduation. She remembered thinking that he looked nice in a suit. Okay, she might as well be honest; he looked pretty hot in a suit. She'd be lying to herself if she tried to deny that Luke was handsome. _You're allowed to think that about friends, right? I think Sookie is gorgeous. Doesn't mean I have feelings for her…Ew, and let's not dwell on that thought ever again. _

It was strange that she was thinking about Luke a lot on this trip. Usually her thoughts were cyclical, starting with coffee, going to 'must get some now,' then to 'man, this stuff cost me a pretty Euro,' next to 'the cups are too small. Luke's are 100 times bigger,' finally going to 'Luke's coffee sounds pretty good,' then to Luke in general, ending with wondering if he went on that cruise with Nicole. Lorelai thought about that fact more than she liked to admit. It bothered her more than she liked to admit. _Why does it bother me if Luke went on the cruise with Nicole? Why should I care? _

It was usually when things were quiet. Rory would be flipping through her guide book, while Lorelai drank coffee and nibbled on biscotti, taking in her surroundings. She couldn't get their last conversation out of her head. Luke saying that he might not go on the cruise. How she felt both guilty that she scared him, but inexplicably happy that he wasn't going. Luke was not sure that he wanted to commit to Nicole. A part of Lorelai not wanting him to because she wasn't particularly found of the stuck-up strawberry blonde. Curious as to why she suggested that he go on the trip anyway, despite what Nicole might read into it. How cryptic he sounded when he said, "You think that's okay considering. . .I don't know. . .everything?" _What the hell did he mean by that? _There were other things that day, other feelings that she had about Luke that remained a mystery. Her heart swelled and sped up when she realized he was crying because he was proud and loved Rory like his own. They were strange, but familiar at the same time. _Does that make sense?_

"Uhhh, namesake," Rory called, waving her hand in front of her mother's face.

"Huh?" Lorelai said, shaking her head as she brushed those strange Luke thoughts away. Something that she had become accustomed to these past three weeks.

"You zoned out again."

"Sorry, my heart."

"I was thinking about adding Murano to the list so we could see the glass blowers."

"Sounds fun, I'm game."

"What's with your face?" Rory asked, arching her eyebrow.

"Boy, do I feel pretty right now." Lorelai stated in defense, touching her cheeks and feeling that they were hot. She was blushing. She was blushing because she was thinking about Luke. She was blushing because she was thinking about Luke and she had been caught. _Luke is just your friend. You're over-analyzing everything about that day because you haven't seen him in awhile and you miss seeing him everyday. Remember the last time you went a long time without seeing Luke? You had that crazy dream about him! With the decaf, and the twins, and the toy in the cereal, and the…kissing. _

"You're all red."

"It's a little warm today."

"Ohhkay," Rory brought out slowly, obviously not believing a word coming out of her mother's mouth. Knowing she had caught the elder Lorelai zoning out with that same dreamy/confused expression several times on the trip.

"So, uh, I have a crazy request," Lorelai said, hoping to cover up her blush by spiking Rory's interest about a new place.

"Never comforting."

"Usually true, but this has always been a little dream of mine."

"Do tell."

"I want to see that library slash church from Indiana Jones."

"Which movie?"

"The last one. With Sean Connery."

"The church in the canyon? That's in Jordan, or Lebanon, I think."

"No, the one when he was in Venice. You know, with the big X, and the rats, and the skeleton, and the blonde Nazi chick, and the 'Ah, Venice,'" Lorelai said, doing her best to emulate Harrison Ford.

"Oh, I know what you're talking about now. You realize that there probably aren't catacombs under that church/library."

"I don't want to see the catacombs, just the outside. Take some pictures. Fantasize about Harrison Ford from twenty years ago."

"Yeah, the earring kinda makes him unappealing now."

"We are so alike that it's creepy sometimes."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Rory said with a smile, as she downed the rest of her espresso and jotted down the Indiana Jones church/library on the Hello Kitty adorned list. "Okay, remember I didn't scoff at your idea, so please hear mine out."

"I'm intrigued."

"I want to see an opera." If Lorelai had any coffee left, she would have spit it all over the table in shock. Yes, it would have been painful, but it was an appropriate reaction.

"I'm sorry, I thought you just said you wanted to see an opera." Lorelai said with a snort.

"I did…Stop laughing!"

"Obviously you have never been to an opera."

"Hence the interest."

"Believe you me, you'll be screaming 'I want my life back!' by the end. Worse then _Magnolia_."

"When have you ever been to an opera?"

"I was 13-"

"Oh boy," Rory said with a sigh.

"-and my mother, along with some other DAR biddies, decides that we children just weren't cultured enough. The opera comes to town and Emily is all aglow. 'What a wonderful opportunity for you, Lorelai. Honestly, I don't understand all this teenage hostility. I am trying to mold you into a well-rounded young lady who has class.'" Lorelai mocked, doing her best attempt at an Emily voice.

"Why does Grandma sound British?"

"She just came back from a trip to London. Are you going to keep interrupting me? This is a valuable life lesson and includes some moments featuring both of your parents."

"Dad was there too? This should be interesting. Continue."

"Thank you. As I was saying…My mother, along with Francine Hayden, and a few other people that I couldn't remember if I tried, chipped in for a couple boxes at the Hartford Symphony Hall. I ended up wedged in between Christopher, who I was beginning to tolerate at the time, and Digger Stiles, who annoyed me to no end, while our mothers happily chatted behind us."

"Poor kid."

"I knew you would empathize."

"No, I mean, poor kid named Digger. He must have got the tar beat out of him in junior high."

"No hon, Digger's just a nickname. His real name was Jason, or Jeff…or maybe it was John. Anyway, I've always held him in contempt because he tipped over our canoe in the middle of the lake during summer camp."

"Haha, remind me to ask you about summer camp later."

"Oh believe me, that's a good story too. Okay, sorry, what was I talking about again?"

"Opera."

"Right, don't let me get off on anymore tangents, kay? I'll start sounding like Ten Second Tom…So, the opera started out alright. It was about these singing nuns, the Carmelites, who lived in Paris during the French Revolution. Now normally, singing nuns are fun, right?"

"_Sound of Music_?"

"Exactly! But, after the first intermission, it was no 'How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?' I got tired of reading the little subtitles. Christopher and Digger took turns looking for cleavage with their opera glasses, while I took to searching for funny names in the Playbill."

"What's the best one you came up with?"

"Ray Funk."

"Poor Ray."

"I was very tempted to start whistling 'Play That Funky Music White Boy,' at the time."

"What makes you so sure he was white?"

"Just an inkling." Rory sighed.

"Let's get back on track here. So, you were bored…"

"Out of my mind, lemme tell you. But, suddenly, things took a turn for the best in the last two minutes of the opera," Lorelai thrust out her hand in a dramatic matter. "The nuns were led to the guillotine!"

"Oh no," Rory stated, having a feeling as to where this story was headed.

"There they stood, in a long line, singing a prayer, walking up a plank that led off stage. Then, there was a huge whooshing sound, which I would assume is the sound a guillotine makes before your head falls off, and one-by-one the nuns stopped singing-"

"Oh my God, you started laughing, didn't you?"

"Like a giggling lunatic."

"Mom!"

"It got worse. Apparently laughter is contagious…"

"Oh boy," was all Rory could say.

"…and Chris and Digger joined me."

"What happened?"

"Emily grabbed my arm, furious, pulled me out of the box, and took me home. Worse punishment my parents ever gave me."

"Well, I hear that laughing at dying nuns is punishable by death by the Catholic Church."

"The day my grounding was over, I made a promise to myself, Rory." Lorelai gripped Rory's arm for dramatic emphasis, "I vowed to never attend the opera again, because you never know what you may find funny in moments of complete boredom, and you never know what negative consequences may follow your laughter. I want that month back, child!"

"Sometimes I think you are way too overdramatic, even for me. This conversation took up at least twenty minutes of our time."

"Your point?" Lorelai asked. Rory held up the list.

"We could be crossing some of this off." Lorelai huffed.

"You know, I'm starting to think that my little life lessons have no effect on you."

"Starting to think?" Rory said with a sly grin. Lorelai relented.

"Alright, where do you want to go? The Glockenspiel Museum?"

"You mean the Guggenheim?"

"Same difference. Lead me to the dirty Picassos."

* * *

A few hours later, Lorelai and Rory completed their jaunt to the Guggenheim museum, and now perused the booths and kiosks on the Ponte di Rialto. Their mission; try to find the perfect souvenirs for their friends, and chachkies for their own home.

"Ya know, I'm starting to think that Jackson Pollack is a very bitter man," Lorelai commented, as they passed by a cart where a man sold boxer shorts that had the lower anatomy of Michelangelo's famous David statue printed on it. _Well, that doesn't leave much to the imagination. _

"Why is that?" Rory asked, as she picked up one of the shorts, eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"Did you see that one painting called _Circumcision_? There were some definite angry brush strokes there." Rory didn't respond, still studying the boxer shorts intently. "Honey, I know you're sheltered, but if you haven't seen at least one of those in a painting or something, then I definitely did something wrong." Rory glanced up at Lorelai and turned beet red.

"I-I-I've seen one on a painting before," she stuttered, quickly putting the boxers back on the rack. "I was just trying to figure out why they're selling boxers with the David on it here, when the David is in Florence."

"Uh huh, sure you were," Lorelai teased, and grabbed Rory's arm before they spent an unreasonable amount of time staring at the phallic boxers.

"Ah, look, postcards!" Rory announced a little too loudly and a little too exuberantly. Lorelai decided to save her daughter from any more embarrassment by not mocking her mercilessly about the boxer short stare for the rest of the day, and began turning the postcard rack. On her second complete turn, one postcard caught her eye. She picked it up and began to study the photographed scene. Lorelai immediately recognized some of the buildings and palazzos of Grand Canal. The sky was streaked with pinks, oranges, and yellows and the water took on the sunset hues in the reflection. Off to the left side, shadowy silhouettes represented two men with fishing poles, lines cast off the bridge and into the water. A scrolled _Venezia_ adorned the top right corner. This picture captivated her. For some strange reason, this picture reminded her of Luke.

Lorelai had been getting a lot of that lately. Definitely more than she liked to admit. The entire trip she had seen little insignificant things at numerous places, and every time her thoughts immediately turned to Luke. _Why was that? _She couldn't quite figure it out herself. In Greece, it had been a man herding goats. It made Lorelai think of Gilbert, which in turn made her think of her chuppah, which made her think of the man who spent all those hours carving it. The man who carved her a goat just because he thought she liked goats. But, she brushed it off, blaming the sudden twisting feeling in her stomach to homesickness. In Florence, she had seen a man driving a truck among all the tiny compacts that Europeans called cars. Once again, she thought of Luke and his old truck and the rants that would be inspired about how useless small cars were. Or maybe an environmentally friendly Luke rant would come out, and he would spend hours talking about how the Europeans were much better at conserving fuel than greedy, wasteful Americans. In Rome, it had been a tourist dressed in flannel, arms crossed gruffly across his chest. And, well, you get the idea. One cannot separate the thoughts of flannel shirts and Luke. _Flannel is to Luke as Coffee is to Lorelai. _

Of course, there was the coffee. That always reminded her of Luke, like the espresso she drank earlier that day. Lorelai couldn't explain these crazy thoughts. She didn't know what had happened that made her think this way. It wasn't like she wasn't going to see him again in a couple of months. It wasn't like they hadn't gone an entire summer without seeing each other before. Memories of last summer and their stupid fight filled her head. Did she do the same thing then? Lorelai honestly couldn't remember. Maybe she had.

"Hey, uh, Rory," she called out to her daughter, who was examining glass gondola figurines. "Who haven't we sent a postcard to yet?" Rory pulled the Hello Kitty notepad from her back pocket and turned a few pages.

"Uh…Andrew, Tobin, Michel, Luke, Mrs. Cassini, Taylor, Gypsy, Mia-"

"What do you think about this one for Luke?" Lorelai interrupted Rory's list and handed her the picture of the two fishermen.

"Pretty."

"I thought so."

"Did the fishermen remind you of Luke?"

"Yeah, and, well, I don't know…I think he would like to hear about our trip."

"Yeah, he probably would," Rory said with a nod. "Do you think he went on the cruise with Nicole?" she asked, voicing Lorelai's thoughts.

"I don't know," Lorelai practically whispered, as she leaned closer to Rory. Almost as if she was she was telling her a secret, "He didn't seem like he wanted to go when we talked at your graduation. Like we scared him away with all the teasing about 'getting down on one knee.'"

"Well, like I said before, he should go. He could use a vacation."

"I believe that was the gist of the conversation I had with him...So, we should get this then?"

"Definitely…Think we still have enough time today for a gondola ride?" Lorelai looked at her watch.

"I saw a booth on our way over here. I'm game." Lorelai paid for Luke's postcard and the Gilmore girls headed in the direction of the gondolas for a late afternoon ride.

"What are the chances that I can talk you into that opera while we're here?" Rory asked, linking her arm with her mother's.

"I'd say one in a million." Lorelai said with a grin, thinking her long opera rant got her nowhere.

"So, you're saying there's a chance…"

"Very funny, Lloyd Christmas."

* * *

**Dear Luke,**

**Having the time of our lives, but miss your coffee terribly. Hope all is well. This postcard reminded us of you.**

**Love,**

**Lorelai and Rory**

* * *

**A/N: Well, I'll keep this note brief, since I rambled on with my excuses at the beginning. What did you think? Is it great? Horrible? Eh (waves hand side to side with iffy expression of face)? Continue? Personally, I like the Rory/Lorelai-ness of the chapter, but, of course, miss LL action. That'll come eventually. We must spend some time setting up shop, so to speak. By the way, the opera experience really happened to me. It was _Dialogues of the Carmelites _and I saw it in high school, and yes, I busted up laughing when the nuns started getting their heads chopped off. Made those boring three hours entirely worth it for me.**

**I wanted to thank you all for your terrific comments and suggestions (30 reviews! Wowie! I love you guys). I'm always welcome to suggestions. I'm just glad most of you thought I could write Luke. He's a man, I'm a woman. I have no perspective here, but I tried to get into the male psyche by bugging my best guy friend and picking his brain. **

**I liked the idea of LL making progress before they get home to Stars Hollow, but finding a way to realistically do that is difficult. Some people said that maybe Lorelai and Rory should end up on the cruise with Luke, but I probably won't do that b/c I don't think it's fair to Rory. All her life, Lorelai has promised this Europe trip to her and it wouldn't be right if she put her needs to be with Luke over her promise to her daughter by cutting the trip short. And, Luke's cruise isn't going to be that long, for that matter (only a couple of weeks in my mind). Lorelai can be selfish (which is part of her mystique and part of what I love about her), but I don't think she would be about that. I think Rory might understand, but I still don't think it would be fair to her. But, if anyone has a way of doing that w/out being unfair to Rory, feel free to drop me a line. I like the phone call idea a lot, but I was debating, once again, on how to realistically do that. Luke wouldn't know how to get ahold of her in Europe and Lorelai wouldn't know how to get ahold of him on the boat. But, then, inspiration hit. I won't give anything away, but you'll soon see. But, I'm still very open to your ideas, since after about chapter 6, I'm at a loss about what to do. Please review. Ooo, and if anyone would be willing, I desperately need someone to bounce ideas off of sometimes. Let me know please. I guess I lied about being brief. I apologize. **

**Next Chapter (3)…_Where's Freud When You Need Him?_: I really can't tell you much, b/c it would reveal some major plot lines, but you will see both Lorelai and Luke in this chapter. Something happens that gets Lorelai thinking and Luke inadvertently does something with negative results for him.**


	3. Where’s Freud When You Need Him?

**A/N: Well hello there! Bet you didn't expect to see me so soon. QUICK, go into the next room and ask the first person you find to call 911. 9-1-1. Got it? The nice paramedics can get your heart beating again…Sorry, sometimes I'm even annoyed by my hilarity.**

**So, yeah, hi again. I am thrilled by the last reviews. Glad to know I still have an audience after my long absence. I have a confession to make…I had this chapter finished before I even ended Chapter 2. In fact, having this chapter done was my main motivation for getting through the mucky-muck (great, now Wonderboy is stuck in my head) spots in Chapter 2. I just flat out adore this chapter. Believe me, there's plenty to love. That's why I've been dying to post it, but I wanted to wait for a bit to get the reaction from the last chapter. Since my feedback was positive, here we are, the next installment. Oh, and just a little warning. There's a slight bit of smut, but it isn't that bad, b/c I can't write smut worth anything. But, I just thought I'd give you the heads up (7-up! Ha, remember that?).**

**Ok, so dedications/responses... LLFreak8285, I'll tell you all about Gallaudet if you want, it was really neat. Sarahb2007, thanks for adding ROTFLMAO to my vernacular. I'm starting to think I'm getting too old b/c people have all these acronyms and I have no idea what they mean. To orangesherbert7, for your song. That made my day, lol. To Lolabelle, ha, I beat you this time! Muhahaha! Bellybuttonsrcool, please don't die! I updated! Muffin, pants, pants, pants. A pair of pants. Panting over someone. Pantsing someone. Many uses. And I'm glad you updated too. Gah, there's too many of you that I want to say stuff to. I promise I'll do better with the responses next chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter 3: Where's Freud When You Need Him?**

DING, sounded the diner door. Had Lorelai been in a singing mood, she would have belted out, "Ding ding ding went the diner door/ Clang clang clang went the plates/ Zing zing zing went my heart strings/ From the moment I smelled that coffee, I felt…" in true Judy Garland/ "Meet Me in St. Louis" fashion. Yes, it really did feel good to be home after her whirlwind tour of Europe, but she wasn't quite ready to do a trolley style song and dance for the lunch rush. Well, maybe after some coffee. Mmm, she would definitely need the coffee first. Lorelai bounded up to the counter, heels click-clacking on the floor like a castanet solo. But, something was wrong with the picture before her…No Luke.

"Hey Caesar," Lorelai said, addressing the robust Latin employee who was currently running back and forth, performing double duties in the kitchen and dining area.

"Hey Lorelai. Welcome back. Business wasn't the same."

"Oh, a dent in the economy is always expected whenever I leave town. Where's Luke?"

"He's upstairs, fighting with the bread guy again. He was arguing with him down here, but he started scaring customers away."

"Ah yes, angry Luke can be a tad menacing."

"Can I get you anything? Coffee?" Caesar asked, taking Luke's normal position behind the counter with a pad in hand.

"Did you make it?"

"No, Luke did."

"Then bean me up, Scottie…and I'll take a burger as well."

"Sure thing," Caesar jotted down the order, then poured Lorelai a cup and passed it over. After a few glorious sips of caffeinated goodness, Lorelai reached into her purse and pulled out a small box.

"Caesar," she called into the kitchen, "Do you mind leaving my burger at my stool when it's done? I'm going up to say hi to Luke."

"Okay, but I'm warning you. He's not in the best of moods."

"I'll take my chances and a machete," Lorelai said with a wink, then picked up her mug and made her way behind the counter. She managed to maneuver up the stairs without spilling a drop. She started to hear Luke when she was halfway up the stairs and paused by the door to listen to his phone conversation.

"Look, I already compared prices for the 8-grain wheat with Pete Gallagher, and, not only is it cheaper, it's a better quality bread…What do you want me to do, Joe? You've been my bread guy for nine years, but I'm not afraid to take my business somewhere else…That's not an empty threat, buddy…" Lorelai knocked and listened as Luke's boots caused the wood floor to creak as he approached the door. She could make out the outline of his flannel and baseball cap through the opaque window. Luke pulled open the door with the phone still pressed to his ear and the phone cord trailing behind him. His gruff facial features softened when he recognized her, and silently gestured for her to come in. Lorelai mouthed a 'hi' and Luke acknowledged her with a slight wave.

"Listen, Joe, I have to go. You may or may not remember that I have a business to run and my screaming time is cutting into my making money. I'll give you a week to make me a better offer…Alright, bye." Luke replaced the phone on the cradle and turned to face Lorelai with a slight grin on his face.

"Hey world traveler. I see you're still alive."

"Hey yourself," she grinned back. It was nice seeing Luke again. She didn't realize how much she missed him. _Is miss the right word?_

"When did you get in?" Luke asked, using his hand to offer her a seat at his kitchen table. She accepted by sitting down and he took the chair across from her.

"Last night. We almost gave Babette a heart attack. She thought we were prowlers…But, I come bearing gifts," she said, holding out the box to Luke. He suddenly looked both touched and uncomfortable. An odd facial contortion, though.

"Jeez, you didn't have to…I mean, I didn't…get you…" He shifted in his chair and reached up to adjust his cap. _He looks pretty cute when he's uneasy...Wait, cute? _

"Ah, Luke, just accept the gift. I mean, Rory and I saw it and it screamed you. Plus it's German, manly, and functional." Luke quickly pushed the box back toward Lorelai.

"Jeez, you got me German condoms, didn't you?" He said in exasperation. Lorelai, who had just taken a sip of her coffee, started choking from Luke's comment, managing to let out a laugh between coughs. "You okay?" Luke asked, placing a hand on her arm.

"How…_cough_…in the world…_cough_…did we not think of that…_cough cough_…just…_cough_…open it…_cough_." Luke complied, not willing to ignore the dying wish of another victim of a coffee drowning. Opening the box, he was pleasantly surprised to find a blue, ornately decorated German beer stein with a hunting motif.

"This is really nice…thanks," Luke said with an amazed expression on his face. _We certainly picked out the right gift for him. _

"We thought you would like it. It's no pack of German condoms, but Rory thought you would like the fish painted on there."

"Be sure to tell Rory thanks for me."

"Absolutely, she'll be glad to hear it. We spent hours, no days, mulling over a gift for you. You are one hard person to shop for, mister," Lorelai announced with a sly grin as she brought the coffee mug to her lips. Luke placed the stein on the middle of the table, as if he meant to display his new treasure.

"How was Europe? Did you two have fun?"

"Oh Luke, it was fabulous. Everything I hoped it would be and more. It was almost surreal in that sense."

"Well, I'm glad you got to go," Luke smiled at her nostalgic expression, "Any coffee left over there?" he mused in his rarely used teasing tone.

"Well, they ran dangerously low in Amsterdam, but luckily there was weed for the taking. The Dutch started calling me Cheechette by the end of our stay."

"I think I'm sorry I asked."

They stayed comfortably silent for a moment. Lorelai soaked up the time she missed with her friend. She hadn't seen him in three months. But, there was something that was still bugging her; the cruise. Did he go? She was dying to find out, but finding it hard to formulate the words.

"Oh, hey," Lorelai decided to start casually, "How was your cruise with Nicole? Did you end up going?"

"Uhhh…yeah…Yeah, I did." Luke was once again uncomfortable in his own skin. This time, he reached out in front of him and began to fidget with the stein cap. Now Lorelai was insanely curious about Luke's negative reaction and decided to probe further.

"And…" she asked, thrusting out her hand in a dramatic flourish.

"Lots of water."

"Come on, Luke! I want details."

"There isn't much to tell. It was pretty boring."

"Well, then embellish on the mundane for me. I've never been on a cruise before. Trust me, I'd find anything fascinating at this point. Was it great? Did you and Nicole have a good time? Did you get a tan? Was there a magician or a Wayne Newton impersonator?"

"There was a guy that played the water glasses."

"And…"

"What do you want me to say?" Luke asked, immediately transitioning from uncomfortable, to agitated, "There isn't really much I can elaborate on. I- I didn't stay the whole time."

"What do you mean you didn't stay the whole time?" a shocked Lorelai asked. His sudden mood swing was quite odd.

"I cut the trip short," Luke stated matter-of-factly, hoping Lorelai would notice his curt tone and leave it at that.

"You were on a boat! How is that possible?"

"I got off at the next port and took a plane back home."

"It couldn't have been that bad, Luke!"

"It-It wasn't. I was actually having a good time before…" Luke trailed off.

"Before…" Luke sighed, not wanting to go any further. But knowing Lorelai's skills at getting information out of him, he relented.

"Before Nicole and I broke it off…I did try to stay on the boat, but the cabins were all full and I wasn't about to stay with _her _again. The cabin was too small for the both of us."

"You, uh, what?" Lorelai was once again shocked, and was almost positive her mouth was wide open. _Luke and Nicole broke up! What the hell happened?_ Luke sucked in a deep breath.

"Nicole and I broke up," he repeated, this time slower and calmer. He got up from the table and made his way over to the fridge. Lorelai turned in her seat to follow him.

"Oh, Luke… I'm so sorry." _Yeah, yeah, I'm not. But I'm trying to be the bigger person here. We can sing 'Ding, Dong, the Witch is Gone' later. _

"Yeah," came Luke's response from behind the door.

"What happened?"

"It's complicated," he peered his head from out behind the door. "You want something to drink?" Lorelai looked down at her coffee cup and then back at Luke and shook her head.

"No, I'm good…Look, I know it's none of my business, but are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened?" Lorelai mustered up her best sympathetic expression for Luke, attempting to hide her complete elation at the announcement of the sudden departure of Nicole. _Why am I so happy? The poor guy is probably hurt and I'm ready to dance around with sparklers? Hmmm, I wonder if Rory and I have any left from last year's 4th of July Picnic?_

"There's not much to say. I'm fine," Luke reassured her and came back to the table with a glass of orange juice in hand. Instead of taking his former seat, he pulled out the chair next to her and sat down.

"I'm a terrific listener."

"No you're not," Luke shot back.

"I can try…" Lorelai gave him the Bambi eyes. Luke caved.

"Fine," he sighed again, "I've never been big on vacations, so I was a little irritated, but that didn't mean I wasn't enjoying myself. Nicole didn't get that and started nagging me, and that bugged the hell out of me," Lorelai smiled, trying to picture Luke on a deck chair with an annoyed expression, "She started picking fights with me, which I don't deal well with. Then we got into a big fight one night before dinner. I yelled, I was a little tipsy, she accused me of some things that weren't true. Nicole gave me an ultimatum. I don't do well with ultimatums, so I told her I was done and left."

"Wow," was all Lorelai could say. It was the most she had ever talked to Luke about relationships and, for some reason, she was feeling something gnawing in the pit of her stomach.

"Our next stop was in the Bahamas and I caught the next flight home. We haven't talked since, and she sent me a box of my stuff last week. End of story." He picked up his glass and took a swig of orange juice.

"Aw, Luke. I'm sorry," Lorelai finally spoke up again, patting his arm in a friendly and reassuring gesture. Luke gave her a weak smile in return.

"Don't be. It's probably for the best."

"But, still…break-ups are never easy."

"Yeah…I guess not," Luke responded, allowing silence to envelope his kitchen once more. He exhaled audibly and turned back to Lorelai. "I lied."

"What?"

"I think Nicole may have been right with one of her accusations," he said cryptically, looking Lorelai right in the eye. Lorelai swallowed.

"What do you mean?"

"She said…she thought I had feelings for someone else…I think she might have been right." Lorelai felt her heart speeding up. _What's going on here? _"It's something I've been trying to deny for a long time because I thought she wouldn't have me, but something Nicole said made me realize I never gave her a chance. I never showed her that I felt any different."

"L-Luke?" Lorelai managed to stutter out. Luke suddenly grabbed her hand that was still resting on his arm. The nagging feeling to bolt was going through Lorelai's head. "I-I should go. I told Rory to meet me at the diner and she probably ate my burger." Luke didn't let go.

"I never told you. Why the hell did I expect you to automatically know how I felt?" Lorelai didn't know what to say. She couldn't speak. _Is this really happening? _

"Oh…I-" But, Lorelai didn't get a chance to respond. Luke reached up and cupped her chin, quickly pressing his lips to hers. Lorelai immediately felt herself melt into his arms that began to circle around her. As her lips began to respond…

Lorelai bolted upright in bed in holy terror, failing to remember that she inhabited the top bunk of their hostel room, and rammed her head into the ceiling.

"Ow! Dammit!" She immediately fell back onto her pillow and began to lovingly rub the forming knot on her forehead. _Why did I insist on getting the top bunk? What am I? Eight? _Pain shot through her skull as she tried to take in her surroundings. _What city am I in again? Oh, right…Nice. Nice is nice. Ha, gets me every time. Looks like I didn't get amnesia…What was with that dream? Why am I dreaming about kissing Luke? It felt so real. Why did it feel so real?_

Lorelai willed the room to stop spinning, feeling the need to have her dream analyzed by the only person who would give her the best answer; Rory. She cautiously leaned over the railing and made out her daughter's sleeping frame in the moonlit room.

"Rory!" she hissed. No response from the slumbering bulk. "Rorrry!" Lorelai called out a little louder. Still nothing. "RORY!" she nearly yelled.

"Ugh," came the grunt from her only child.

"Wake up."

"Ugh," Lorelai was fluent in grunt, after years of hanging around Luke's and waking up her teenage daughter, and determined this groan meant, 'Why?'

"Because I had a weird dream and I need you to interpret it."

"The moon's still out!"

"That's because the sun's still sleepin'"

"Mo-om!"

"Ro-ry, I need you!"

"And I need sleep." Lorelai smiled, remembering the only way to get her daughter to open her eyes.

"Taylor in a man thong. Miss Patty wrapped in cellophane. Kirk covered in whipped cream, but you can still see his-"

"Okay! I'll analyze your dream! Jeez, I hate it when you do that."

"Yea!"

"Not so loud," Rory whispered, "You'll wake our roommates." Lorelai looked over at the neighboring bunk across the room, where the two Romanian girls snored lightly.

"Honey, they're so plastered that they would probably sleep through Armageddon."

"Fine." Rory rose, Lorelai still hung her head over the rail. "I'm up now. Are you happy?"

"Ecstatic. Come up here. My neck hurts."

"You woke me up, you come down here."

"Alright, I'm coming." Slowly, and ignoring the occasional jab of pain from her almost certainly bruised forehead, Lorelai crawled down the ladder and squeezed into Rory's bed. She was discouraged to find that her baby girl had her eyes closed again. "Hey! You can't do that!"

"What? I can still listen."

"Mommy has a dilemma, and she needs you to focus, which means you need to keep your eyes open for more than five seconds."

"Your dream couldn't have been that bad," Rory said, opening her eyes and scooting over to share her pillow with Lorelai. She turned face the wall.

"It had me kissing Luke! Of course it was that bad!"

"Again," Rory said turning her head back toward Lorelai with a smirk.

"Yes! And it's really bugging me."

"Don't you think that your subconscious is telling you something?"

"No," Lorelai let out in exasperation, "It's not saying anything other than I'm nuts and I shouldn't have had that old marshmallow that I found in my purse before bed."

"Alright, tell me the dream from the beginning and we'll sort through this."

"Okay. So, I walked into the diner, and was talking to Caesar and we were apparently back from Europe. He told me that Luke was upstairs and I…"

Seven minutes and twenty tangents later, Lorelai was getting to the end of her dream, "So, he told me that he didn't know why he expected me to know that he had feelings for me, when he never told me, then he _kissed_ me and I woke up….What do you think?" No response from Rory. "Take it away, Sigmund…" Nothing. "Okay, I get it. You're formulating…" Silence. "Could you formulate a little faster…" No sound, no movement. _Oh, no she didn't…_"Ro-ry." Lorelai peeked her head over Rory's side and noticed that her daughter's eyes were closed and she was breathing heavy. _I can't believe she fell asleep. I even did the Luke voice to emphasize certain points. Jeez Louise. _

Lorelai sighed. She would simply have to recount her dream again in the morning. In the meantime, she was feeling sleepy again. Crazy Luke thoughts exhausted Lorelai. _I bet Freud would never fall asleep during a session. He liked these crazy dreams…Where's Freud when you need him?_

* * *

Nearly a week after the incident on the boat deck, Luke was lying in bed, waiting for his girlfriend to join him for the night. He leafed through the newspaper, not satisfied by the sports scores in front of him. Red Sox lost. Yankees won. _Damn it all_. He attempted to cheer himself up by reading an article about Curt Schilling's pitching stats, but his thought processes were interrupted by the muffled voice coming from the bathroom.

"I cannot believe we fell for it yet again! Three times in a row we sat through that thing."

"Technically the second time wasn't our fault." He answered, averting his eyes from the printed word.

"Yes, true, but we still sat through the whole show again. That's our own damn fault. We could've walked out."

"I guess I held out hope that the water glass guy would be better a second time around."

"But he wasn't! I mean, it was worse than sitting through all of Sandra Bullock's scenes in _Miss Congeniality_, but at least we got to see Benjamin Bratt every once in awhile. And let me tell you, this guy was no Benjamin Bratt."

"If you hate that movie so much, why do you always insist on watching it whenever it's on TV?" Luke projected his voice to the bathroom, trying to be heard over the running water in the sink. _What the hell is taking her so long? But, I guess she is worth the wait... _

"It fascinates me. It's like Justin Timberlake"

"I fail to see the connection."

"He has all these songs on the radio right now, practically every other song. His voice is this whiny, pitchy concoction, picking out tunes a white boy from Florida should not be singing, and frankly, it irritates me. But, the next day, I'm at the grocery store, looking at Pop Tarts, and there's no S'more flavor left, and a very high pitched "Cry Me a River" suddenly comes out of my mouth. Then, all day long, I proceed to hum "Cry Me a River." Then, it becomes ingrained in my head. Once it becomes ingrained, I start to tolerate it. Then, like it a little. Then, like it a little more. Then, a little more…

"Are we getting to a point anytime soon?"

"Hello! Benjamin Bratt!"

"I don't even know why I bother to follow her conversation," Luke muttered to himself, turning his attention back to Schilling's article.

"You do realize that I have impeccable hearing?" Luke sighed, but wasn't as annoyed as he let on. He liked bantering with her. Hell, he loved bantering with her.

"Did we learn our lesson tonight?" He asked the voice in the bathroom, deciding to ultimately abandon his paper on the nightstand.

"My white heels are definitely not a good shoe to wear on the east deck."

"Okay…that and always confirm what show the new couple we meet is going to before we even agree to go with them."

"Two very good codes to live by on this cruise."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Luke said as he lay back on his pillows, propping his hands under his head, elbows jetting out. "Jeez, are you coming to bed any time soon?"

"A little frustrated, are we?" the voice taunted, "Gimme another minute."

"You said that ten minutes ago."

"Believe me, patience is a virtue. It'll all be worth it in a couple of minutes." Luke could almost see her eyebrow raise in that sexy, suggestive manner that always drove him crazy.

"Try telling yourself that the next time you come into my diner in a caffeine frenzy." Luke could hear the light spritzing sound reverberate off the tiled walls of the small bathroom. Distinctly perfume. Luke smiled at that. He could already smell her.

"Did you already read the sports scores, babe?" She asked, obviously wanting to make her entrance a surprise by distracting him. Luke was no fool. He turned toward the bathroom door and saw her silhouette doing last minute hair fluffing in the mirror.

"Sox lost."

"Aw, your team."

"Yeah, my team." He liked that she had made it a point to learn all his teams. It was the more thoughtful side of his girlfriend that he never knew she possessed. He always knew she was a little self-centered, and, for some reason, found that endearing. But, he liked this hidden, more thoughtful side of her. He loved this side of her.

"Then, I promise I'll make it up to you," the sultry voice cooed.

Lorelai Gilmore stepped out of the small cabin bathroom, sticking out her leg first to show off the side slit of the short, hot pink nightie. Luke made sure he took note of how well the silk hugged her curves. The soft pink lace gave a small peek of her cleavage and brushed her thighs and he suppressed a grunt of pleasure. _God, she has some great legs. _

"Hey there, sailor." She saw Luke's Adam's apple shift in his neck as he slowly swallowed and she gave him her best seductive smile.

"Hey yourself," Luke stated evenly, using his arms to prop him up until his back was aligned against the headboard. Lorelai saw his eyes subtly move as he looked at her up in down. Yep, render him speechless. That was the exact reaction she was hoping for.

"Okay, when I stepped out of the bathroom in the dramatic manner that I painstakingly rehearsed when you went out looking for a beer earlier, I was at least hoping for some whistling and maybe a crude comment or two," she teased. Luke let out a low, descending whistle, his playfulness surprising her. "Now see, that wasn't so hard, was it Bogy?"

"I was just getting ready to comment on that and your many other physical attributes if you just gave me another minute."

"Were you now?" Lorelai teased, raising an eyebrow.

"Would you just get over here?" Lorelai grinned and made her way over to the bed, adding a little swivel to her hips just for her hunky vacation partner. "Jeez," was Luke's response, but instead of rolling his eyes, he grinned and threw back the sheet as she crawled in. His hand made its way over to her face as he tucked a stray curl behind her ear and leaned in so that his lips were practically touching hers. "I'm glad you decided to come on this cruise with me," he practically whispered as he brushed her nose with his.

"I'm glad you asked me." Lorelai responded, then closed the final millimeters of distance between them, kissing his lips softly. It didn't take long for the kiss to grow hungry with passion as they reverted to their intimate pattern. Luke was beginning to wonder how he got to be so lucky. A stunningly beautiful woman was crazy about him, and proving it by wearing the skimpiest of lingerie and currently running her hand underneath his shirt and up to his chest. She drove him nuts, but always in a good way, as she positioned her legs on either side of him and began kissing his jaw. Lorelai alternated trailing kisses down his neck and slowly made her way up to his earlobe. She knew exactly what to do to make him react and to drive him up the wall. To make him say rash bedroom things that deep down he meant, but normally would have been too afraid to voice. To make him confess things that he had been thinking about ever since they crossed that line from friendship and into something more, but his fear of scaring her off usually held him back.

"I think…you may have…jeez, Lorelai…been right…about…cruises." Luke managed to get out intermittently as Lorelai sucked on his earlobe. Lorelai stopped and looked into his eyes, smiling, feeling his hands grip tighter around her waist, pulling her in closer.

"Oh yeah?" she asked. Luke leaned in and kissed her eagerly.

"Makes you want…to do things…say things," He vocalized gruffly in between light pecks.

"Is that right?" Lorelai said in an alluring voice as she tugged at the bottom of his shirt.

"Marry me," Luke blurted out of nowhere. He even caught himself off guard. _What are you thinking, Danes?_ Lorelai pulled back and looked at him seriously, brows furrowed. She opened her mouth to say something in response, but before she spoke…

Luke woke up and shot right out of his lying down position, the rapid motion causing his head to spin.

Luke tried to take in his surroundings in the dark room. Where was he again? He could see 1:15 flashing red from the alarm clock against a stark white wall. He was in bed with someone, but as he turned to see her face, it wasn't the dark haired beauty he was dreaming about it. It was Nicole. Then, the reality of his current location hit him like a 2X4. He was with Nicole. He was on a cruise with Nicole. _Why do I keep dreaming about Lorelai? _As if on cue, Nicole shifted in bed as she faced him, obviously as awake as he was right now. She rose up and looked him right in the eyes so they were on the same level.

"You're really serious, aren't you?" Nicole asked sleepily. Luke eyes widened with confusion. _What is she babbling about? Is she sleep-talking? Did I say something in my sleep? God, I didn't say Lorelai's name, did I? _Luke remained silent, not knowing what else to say, just looking at Nicole. She seemed to be processing something, then nodded slowly as she said, "Okay."

"Okay what?" Luke asked. Her brow furrowed a bit as she tilted her head to the side.

"Okay, I'll marry you." Nicole said dryly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. _What the hell? I didn't propose, did I? I think I would have remembered that. I didn't have that many beers and I definitely avoided the Mai Tai bar. Oh crap, crap, crap, I proposed to Lorelai in my dream. Dammit, I must have talked in my sleep. Nicole thinks I really proposed. What the hell am I going to do to get out of this one? It's like I'm in a frakkin' sitcom! _"I mean," Nicole continued, oblivious to Luke's inner turmoil, "I definitely wasn't expecting it, but what the hell, we have a good thing going here. Let's do it."

Before Luke even got a chance to respond or even clarify what happened, Nicole's lips were pressed hard against his. He wanted to fight her off, but his brain was reeling with only one thought as she tugged at the bottom of his shirt: _Oh shit!_

* * *

**A/N: Muhahahahahahaha! I know, I know, I'm evil. Did I get you guys? Now do you know why I love this chapter so much? So yeah, my guess is that you didn't think Lorelai's dream was a dream at first. I'm sure you figured out that Luke was dreaming early on, and knew he was talking to Lorelai in the bathroom, and whatnot. But, were you expecting Luke to sleep talk? Did you expect Nicole to be awake and think the proposal was meant for her? I bet not!**

**I love dreams. They are so fun to work with. I know these dreams may seem very realistic, but the reason why I did that is because I usually have very detailed dreams, and, well, I'm going off experience here. Another thing I love about realistic dreams is there is always a clue or an element that tells you that it is, in fact, a dream and not reality. Sometimes it's Austin Powers showing up and saying "Shagadelic," to you in a pink house on rolling hills. Sometimes, its kids you knew in junior high pulling off their facial masks to reveal that they are the Russian mafia that's been chasing you. Sometimes, it's Muppet Babies in your bathtub, hiding from the T-rex that's coming closer and closer to your house (and yes, these are all very detailed dreams that I've had. Even the Jurassic Park/Muppet Babies dream. I wouldn't make something so ridiculous like that up). But, for Luke and Lorelai, these little clues are more subtle. Well, maybe not so much in Luke's case. I mean, come on, he's dream fantasizing about Lorelai walking out of his bathroom in lingerie and then straddling him, haha. But, I think the moment that dream clue came for Lorelai was when Luke said "I lied," and began to explain that he had feelings for her. At this point, I don't think Lorelai sees that moment as a reality. She can't picture Luke actually confessing his feelings to her because she's still unsure that he does have a thing for her. It's the stuff of dreams, baby.**

**I'd LOVE, and I do mean LOVE, to hear what you think of this chapter. Even two word reviews will suffice (or the long ones, ya know I love the long ones. Look how much I ramble. I always have a lot to say so I always like it when you have a lot to say), as long as you REVIEW. Puhhhleeeeezzeee! I really need motivation for the next chapter b/c I haven't started writing it yet. Suggestions are always welcome. I need feedback and your ideas please. I'm not above groveling. Here's what I got so far…**

**Chapter 4 "I'm Not Going to Anna Nicole Prince Ranier!": Lorelai and Rory are in Monaco and Lorelai is still distracted by the dream. This will eventually lead to Rory trying to talk about relationships and the men in Lorelai's life in an attempt to distract herself from the "J-word" (not Jesus, the other one). Lorelai gets very defensive when Rory makes a comment about Luke…But, on the other hand, not quite sure how I'm going to make those transitions. Suggestions, please! Review, please!**


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